Valve has confirmed it will relax UI legibility requirements for Steam Machine Verified games, allowing titles that don't scale well on small screens to qualify. At GDC 2026, the company revealed a three-tier verification system: Steam Deck, Steam Machine, and Steam Frame Standalone. Steam Deck Verified games automatically qualify for Steam Machine certification, but not vice versa.

This change reflects the Steam Machine's higher performance claims—Valve says it outperforms 70% of current gaming PCs. Games must run at 1080p, 30 FPS with full controller support to achieve Steam Machine Verified status. Titles requiring mouse and keyboard input receive a "Playable" rating instead. Games unsupported on Deck due to SteamOS limitations receive the same rating on Machine.

The Steam Frame Standalone introduces stricter requirements: 90 FPS for VR titles or 30 FPS at 720p for 2D games, plus full controller compatibility. Valve also announced plans to expand Proton compatibility for Arm64, aiming to match Linux compatibility levels. The company will re-evaluate performance-limited games for both platforms and test VR-only titles that were previously blocked on the Steam Deck.